usurped
Americanadjective
-
seized by force or without legal right.
When Edward IV deposed Henry VI, some saw it as a providential restoration of the usurped throne to the lawful heirs of Richard II.
-
deprived of something forcibly or without legal right.
The peasants and other members of the usurped communities have been forced to work as peons in the land that previously belonged to them.
-
used or employed without authority or right; used wrongfully.
Exploitation of usurped or counterfeited web content is punishable by criminal law.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of usurped
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hipsters war have now been usurped by a new stereotype: the tech bro.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Gemini 2.5 Pro, released in March 2025, and Gemini 3.0 Pro, released in November 2025, enjoyed brief stints at the frontier until Anthropic’s Claude models usurped them, Schwarz said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
State Farm was this year usurped as the nation’s biggest personal auto insurer by Progressive, losing a throne held since World War II.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Ultimately, society’s ingrained fear of missing out on making money will be usurped by the fear of losing money.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
But by halfway through the fifth century BC—again, not long before Gorgias arrived—its judicial function had mostly been usurped by the Heliaea,** which was open to absolutely anyone.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
